Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 10 April 2014

Cork City Heritage Plan, 2014-2018

The new Cork City Heritage Plan (2014-2018) is an action plan and sets out a series of realistic and practical actions to protect conserve and manage the city’s heritage over the next five years and a methodology on the implementation of these actions. The draft reports outlines that Cork City’s heritage is diverse, vibrant and can be seen all around us. It includes archaeology, built heritage, natural heritage and cultural heritage together with our archives, museum, libraries and other collections. Other important elements of our heritage include landscapes, geology, and parks. It also includes local history and folklore, turns of phrase and accents, local customs and traditional food.

Cork City Heritage Plan 2007-2012 was the first plan of its kind in Cork City. The plan had four principal objectives and there were forty seven actions covering all aspects of heritage protection and focusing on built heritage, archaeology, cultural heritage and natural heritage. Perhaps the more successful elements were the hands-on elements such as Heritage Open day, which recently won Best Interactive Event for National Heritage
Week 2013. Other successful actions included publications e.g. a Guide to the Record of Protected Structures and A Guide to Nature in the City (which is very much worthwhile googling and downloading to read), Surveys and Studies e.g. the Bridges of Cork City, Development of Heritage Trails in Cork City, Training e.g. Seminar on Ironwork in Cork City, Museum Basics, Events e.g. Cork Heritage Open Day and Heritage Week, and annual projects such as the Cork City Heritage Grants Scheme and the Discover Cork Schools Heritage Project.

The new draft plan does not contain actions on every aspect of heritage, as this would be impossible to achieve in five years. A conscious decision was made by the diligent Heritage Officer Niamh Twomey to keep to a realistic number of actions and in so doing 30 priority actions were identified. However, the draft plan calls for the public to respond to it. Niamh rightly comments that “heritage is more than just the individual material assets and environment of a place. It is also about the relationship between all these elements and the people of Cork City. In truth heritage is all of these things. It is what we as a community have inherited from the past and it is what defines our city, making it unique and separate from any other place”.

Stand on any public space in Cork and one can view is a city of contrasts and is a mixture of many varied cultural traditions. As the draft plan denotes; “ The heritage of Cork City maps and mirrors this diverse and continuous change in Cork and its citizens, from the Vikings through to the Victorians and into the modern day. It is this heritage which helps make Cork City the vibrant and interesting place it is today”. All elements of heritage can be experienced in Cork City. The archaeology of the city can be seen in the medieval street pattern of the North and South Main Streets, the historic graveyards such as St Joseph’s and St Finbarr’s and medieval and early post medieval structures such as Red Abbey Tower and Elizabeth Fort. Cork’s industrial archaeology and historic remains still survive in the contemporary City e.g. the Butter Market in Shandon and the bonded warehouse in the Port of Cork.  Natural heritage has also always thrived in Cork, no doubt due to its estuarine and wetland origins. Many mammals, birds, invertebrates and wild plants have adapted to life alongside humans in our urban landscape.

There are four objectives of the draft heritage Plan. Firstly, caring and managing our heritage is at the core of what the plan sets out to do. This is achieved through promoting best practice and encouraging the care, conservation and protection of our heritage. Secondly, the need for better communication of the heritage message was one of the clearest outcomes from the heritage plan review process. Good communication is required to raise awareness of heritage issues and garner public support for the protection and care of our heritage while also facilitating greater enjoyment of Cork City’s rich heritage for everyone. Heritage events will play a key role in attracting more people to explore and enjoy their heritage.  Thirdly support education, research and training is key. Learning more about our heritage by collaborating with collecting and research institutions and bodies and commissioning research which adds to our knowledge, is important, as is providing training opportunities for those interested in managing their local heritage.  The fourth objective is to increase level of community activity for heritage and forge stronger links with business and tourist interests. Heritage groups and organisations, dedicated individuals and local communities play a key role in caring for and raising awareness of our heritage and in adding to our knowledge of our heritage.

The draft Cork City Heritage Plan is available to download from www.corkcityheritage.ie/newsandevents or by contacting the Heritage Officer at heritage@corkcity.ie or tel. 021 4924086. The closing date for comments is Friday 25 April 2014.  Please forward all submissions in writing to Niamh Twomey, Heritage Officer, Cork City Council, City Hall, Cork. 

Caption:

736a. ‘Heritage relationships’, Grand Parade boardwalk with Holy Trinity Church and Parliament Bridge, 17 March 2014 (picture: Kieran McCarthy)